Plastic made of air By 2050 we will need to build houses for | Tech for Good
Plastic made of air
By 2050 we will need to build houses for additional 2 billion people. This will cost us 350 gigatonnes of carbon emissions or 70% of all carbon budget in building materials alone. Traditional building materials. But there is a Berlin-based startup, Made of Air, trying to change this.
Their carbon-negative thermoplastic is developed using biomass - waste from forests and farms in the countryside surrounding Berlin. Made of Air stores 2 tonnes of CO2 for every tonne of plastic - more than it releases into the atmosphere.
The material is created from biochar, a form of charcoal produced by heating biomass to extremely high temperatures in an oxygen-free furnace. This process, called pyrolysis, reduces the biomass to just carbon. Biochar is commonly used as a fertilizer, but it is becoming popular as a tool for removing carbon from the atmosphere and combating climate change.
Made of Air plastic is made from forestry offcuts and agricultural waste, plant material, and wood that is naturally full of carbon. After creating the biochar, the company infuses it with a binding material from sugar cane. The end result is thermoplastic granules that can be used in plastic molding and production.
The company has already shown some cool real-life uses of its material. Made of Air has created a pair of limited-edition carbon-negative eyeglasses for clothing retailer H&M. They have also made a paneling for an Audi dealership building in Munich. It was clad in seven tonnes of Made of Air pressed into hexagonal panels, storing fourteen tonnes of carbon, as the company claims.
According to the startup, there are five main areas where bioplastics can be realistically applied — urban infrastructure, building facades, interiors, transport, and furniture.
Made of Air hopes to see more practical applications of their material. That could help rapid urban growth across the planet play an active part in slowing down climate change.
Article on Cleantechnica
Made of Air website (they are hiring)
#recycle #biomass #architecture #startups
